A diary of life at Plot 23b

Planning the Plot: Legume Bed 2016

The legumes for this year are to be situated in what has come to be known as bed number 1. This is the bed closest to ‘front’ of the allotment and which runs the full width of the allotment. It is the longest bed on the plot, beating the other three by a good six foot. It’s situated in between, and divides, what I like to think of as the two industrial areas of the plot, these being the shed area and the future greenhouse area. As a result I have decided to create a path joining these two areas, I can already feel the temptation to take a short cut across the bed so it makes sense to create a short cut rather than find myself frustrated in a few months at having to take the long way round. To make sure the path isn’t dead space I plan to put an arch over the path to grow french beans up. My only concern being that this might cast too much shade, however, from watching the path of the sun last year I think it will be high enough for this not to be a problem during the summer months.

Here is a list of veggies that will be going into the legume bed:

French Climbing Beans – Variety: Borlotto Lingua De Fuoco –This heritage verity heralds from Italy and the name translates to ‘Tongue of Fire’ which most likely refers to their pinkish outer shell. The majority of the harvest will be dried ready for use in stews and casseroles later in the year, although a few might find their way into a summer salad or two. My current ambition is to grow them up and over an archway which will line a path through the bed, however, I am concerned that this will cast too much shade on to it’s neighbours. They won’t need planting out till June so I’ll be watching the sun over the next few months to see if it’s arch is high enough for this not to be too much of a factor.

Courgette – Variety: Sunstripe – As their name hints at this British bred variety produces bright yellow fruit with white stripes and, if I’m being honest, this is the only reason that I picked this variety up. I have since learnt that they are also spineless plants (always a bonus!). I think that the colour will be a lovely addition to most salad and pasta dishes come the end of summer.

Peas (early) – Variety: Twinkle – Again, another British bred variety that was picked primarily because of it’s name (you’ll see a recurring theme throughout these posts). I did do quite a bit of research on varieties because I’m quite excited about growing my own peas, having only ever eaten frozen ones, but that went straight out of the window when I was browsing in the garden centre and saw the name Twinkle, how could I resist?! I will be growing them up peasticks because I quite like the ramshackle rustic look of them.

Peas (Main) – Variety: Alderman – This well known heritage variety was well researched and chosen based on it’s reputation for being a reliable heavy cropper.

Peas (Sugar) – Variety: Kennedy – A British bred super sweet mangetout variety. We eat quite a lot of mangetout in salads, particularly sautéed and tossed in a little bit of decent olive oil so I was looking for an attractive high yielder that would last us through the growing season.

Pumpkin – Variety: Jack Of All Trades – When looking at pumpkins the temptation to go for one of the giant varieties was very strong but, in the end, I was one over by the phrase “Perfectly proportioned for carving!”. The idea of carving a handsome pumpkin that I’d grown from seed was just too much of a draw.

Runner Beans – Variety: Scarlet Empire – Another variety that I saw mentioned time and time again when looking for a reliable heavy cropper. These will be grown up a frame at the end of the bed so as not to cast too much shade on any crops. They should be far enough in from the boundary that they won’t cause too much bother for the neighbours either.

Squash (Autumn) – Variety: Autumn Crown – This variety is the result of crossing a “Crown Prince” squash with a butternut squash and the fruit bears the shape of one parent and the colour of the other. More importantly for me it has inherited the Crown Prince’s early ripening habit, setting fruits at least a month before other butternuts, thus making it suitable for growing further north.